World’s oldest man dies in Japan at 112

The world’s oldest man, Yasutaro Koide, died Tuesday at the age of 112 in Aichi Prefecture, a local official said.

Koide, born just months before the Wright brothers made their first successful flight, died in a hospital in Nagoya, where he had lived for many years, the official said.

The super-centenarian, recognized as the world’s oldest male at age 112 last year, died of heart failure and pneumonia, the official said.

Koide, a former tailor who was born on March 13, 1903, in Fukui Prefecture, received a certificate from Guinness World Records confirming him as the world’s oldest after another Japanese man who was just a month older died in July.

Asked about the key to longevity, Koide had reportedly said: “The best thing to do is avoid overwork and live with joy.”

At 111 years old, Tokyo native Masamitsu Yoshida, born on May 30, 1904, succeeds Koide as the oldest man in Japan. It was not immediately known whether Yoshida is also the world’s oldest male.

Currently, the world’s oldest person is American Susannah Mushatt Jones, who is 116 and was born on July 6, 1899, according to the Guinness World Records website.

Around a quarter of Japan’s population of 127 million is aged 65 or older.